Item number: A2982

Year: AD 1434-1439

Material: Bronze

Size: 20.9 x 20.9 x 0.4 mm

Weight: 1.55 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This coin, inscribed “Thiệu Bình Phong Bảo”, was issued under the reign title of Lê Nguyên Long, the second emperor of the Later Lê dynasty, who is referred to in Chinese historical records as Lê Linh. It was most likely a privately cast variant, rather than an officially minted issue.

The coin adopts the traditional Chinese-style square-holed cash coin design. On the obverse, the four Chinese characters “Thiệu Bình Phong Bảo” (紹平豐寶) are engraved in a script that exhibits slight semi-cursive stylistic features, arranged in the sequence of top, bottom, right, and left. The reverse is plain, bearing no inscriptions or decorative elements.

The Later Lê Dynasty was established by Lê Lợi, the father of Lê Nguyên Long, during a period when the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty intervened and occupied Vietnam following the decline of the Trần Dynasty. Lê Lợi led his supporters in a ten-year-long resistance against the invading Ming forces, ultimately achieving success in AD 1428 by founding the Later Lê Dynasty and forcing the Ming Empire to withdraw and recognise Vietnam’s independence.

In AD 1433, after ascending the throne as Emperor Lê Thái Tông, Lê Nguyên Long ordered the abolition of the paper currency left over from the previous dynasty and introduced the “Thiệu Bình Thông Bảo” square-holed coin for nationwide circulation, which even spread into southern China, including the regions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Fujian.

The coinage of the Later Lê Dynasty is considered the pinnacle of minting technology in Vietnamese history, characterised by its superior copper quality, standardised design, and exquisite calligraphic artistry.

物件編號: A2982

年代: 公元 1434-1439 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 20.9 x 20.9 x 0.4 mm

重量: 1.55 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是越南歷史上後黎朝的第二任皇帝，黎太宗黎元龍，即中國史書上記載的黎麟以其年號鑄造的「紹平豐寶」，極有可能是民間私下鑄造的版別。

錢幣形制為仿效中國的方孔錢造型。錢幣正面按上、下、右、左順序，依序以帶有一點行書風格的漢字書法鐫刻「紹平豐寶」四字。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何文字或圖案。

後黎朝為黎元龍的父親黎利，於明朝永樂皇帝趁著陳朝末年，出兵介入和占領越南之際，帶領支持者向入侵的明軍展開長達十年的戰爭，於公元1428年成功建立後黎朝，迫使明帝國撤兵和承認其獨立。公元1433年，黎元龍繼位為太宗後，下令全國廢止前朝遺留的紙鈔，鑄造「紹平通寶」方孔錢流通於全國，甚至流入中國南部的兩廣、雲貴和福建一帶。

後黎朝的錢幣鑄造技術為越南歷史上的巔峰，其使用的銅質十分上乘，形制規範和書法藝術皆非常精美。